


The Traitor

by theblackhall



Category: Pentagon (Korea Band)
Genre: Black Markets, Blood and Violence, Business, Gun Violence, Knifeplay, Thriller
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:22:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25668898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theblackhall/pseuds/theblackhall
Summary: The elevator ran smoothly, no sounds coming from outside. It was opaque, so Jinho had no choice but to just burn a hole into Wooseok’s back. The others seemed to have someone that they knew, and Jinho felt left out because he’d come alone. These people were complete strangers to him.Then, his heart sank to his stomach.Company director Lee Hwitaek cleared his throat.“So, I bet you are wondering why I’ve gathered you here,” he broke the silence, right before hitting the emergency button.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	The Traitor

**Author's Note:**

> found an interesting prompt on pinterest and me being me, i had to make it a dark twisted story. i didn’t plan anything and wrote this whole thing spontaneously so... enjoy?

The city was fully awake, and so was Jinho.

Every corner of the street was filled with people waiting to cross the main roads and every main road was drowned in rows and rows of vehicles. Well, it’s Monday morning.

Jo Jinho was on his way to—hopefully—his brand new workplace. He had passed the first round of interviews and he’s more than thrilled to have them call him in for the final rundown of his application.

What wasn’t so thrilling was the hustle and bustle of the city, with cars honking and people bumping into him with every step he took towards the building.

It was a well known company, and postgraduate Jo Jinho felt the nervousness in his belly dance around with the excitement. His fingers toyed with the hem of his blazer from time to time, and he mentally scolded himself for acting so jittery.

“Hey, watch it,” someone muttered in a low voice after Jinho accidentally bumped into them.

Jinho looked up just in time to catch the taller man shooting daggers at him with his eyes. He was gone in the next second, blending into the crowd.

Sighing, Jinho shook off his irritation and made his way towards the skyscraper looming over the other buildings around it, right in the heart of Seoul.

_You can do this. Just behave, give the right answers, and your dream will come true._

Those words of encouragement were repeated in his head several times like a mantra. He wasn’t the kind to back down after some minor inconvenience. He’d spent so many years studying and interning, it’s finally time for him to shine.

***

“Hello, I’m Jo Jinho. I have an appointment with Director Lee Hwitaek?” Jinho asked in a somewhat formal tone. He glanced at the clock above the counter. _10:50 AM._

The receptionist stared at him for a while longer before holding up a hand, signaling him to wait as she picked up the phone.

“Is there a Jo Jinho joining you this afternoon?”

 _Afternoon?_ thought Jinho. _My appointment is literally in 10 minutes._

“Okay,” muttered the receptionist into the receiver with a monotonous voice. She hung up and looked at Jinho again, staring down at him until it made the man’s stomach churn. She handed him a wristband to wear and said, “Sit.”

“Excuse me?”

“Mr Lee will see you once the others have arrived. Sit down first.” The last three words echoed in his ears as she had spoken them with intense pauses in between.

He thanked the scary woman and walked towards the row of chairs placed along the wall on the other side of the lobby, his hand fumbling to strap on the wristband. It was black and had the company logo on it. That’s all.

After sitting down for about five minutes, Jinho felt his foot tapping on the marble floor. He managed to stop fidgeting for the next several minutes before it started again, and he gave up.

He let his leg bounce as his eyes followed the people who walked into and out of the main entrance. All of them were dressed sharply, and even though Jinho himself had a suit on, he felt severely underdressed.

Checking his phone was possible, but he didn’t want to seem like he’s just passing time. He wanted to appear eager for this job, and not just being there because he had to. So his eyes continued to scan through the lobby, straining back and forth between the receptionist and the main entrance.

A tall man sauntered into the building as if he owned it, and Jinho wouldn’t be surprised if he actually did.

He was dressed sharply in a black suit, the white shirt underneath peaking through with the first few buttons undone. His pink hair contrasted his dark attire, and the man looked like he belonged on a runway instead of in an office.

When he talked to the receptionist, the woman looked at him the same way she’d looked at Jinho prior, and the man was also sent to the row of seats.

Looking annoyed and defeated, he made his way towards the seats and Jinho instantly threw his glance elsewhere. The man took a seat on the opposite side, far away from Jinho, and the latter was relieved.

About ten minutes later, two boys—probably in their early twenties—walked in and immediately approached the receptionist. They looked nervous, and they walked with a bounce in their steps and their hands locked between them. One was tall, sporting all black clothes with dark green streaks in his hair. 

Meanwhile the other boy looked bright—he was genuinely smiling despite the woman’s absentminded replies. His choice of clothes was the opposite of the other boy; he was clad in a light blue suit with a pair of white sneakers, adorned in hand painted flowers and rainbows.

When they were sent to the waiting area, they smiled at Jinho and sat two seats away from him.

“Here for a job application?” the bright boy asked.

“Yep, you too?”

“Both of us. I’m Hyunggu, and this is Yuto,” he introduced, and Jinho thought his smile was contagious.

“Hi, I’m Jinho,” he said as they shook hands. The tall, pink haired man snickered, but the three of them pretended not to notice.

It was a relief, having some people to converse with as the waiting was a pain in the ass. They glanced at the doors when another guy walked in, and Jinho’s eyes widened.

The same man that Jinho had bumped into made his way towards the counter with a confidence level that’s possibly higher than the pink haired man. The receptionist didn’t look fazed by his demeanor, but she gave him longer answers compared to the rest of them.

This man was equally, if not a tiny bit shorter, than the other. When he turned towards the seats, his eyes were fixated on the pink haired man at the end of the row, sitting with his legs crossed and emitting a judgmental stare.

“Wooseok,” the man said, gesturing towards the other. “Been here long?”

“Half an hour. I’m about to lose it,” replied Wooseok, running his fingers through his pink hair multiple times. It was 11:34 AM, and Jinho had no idea how much longer they had to wait.

The other man swore as he sat down right beside Wooseok, two seats away from Yuto. He huffed, not bothering to tone down his irritation.

“Why are we called here today anyway? What else does Hwitaek want?” he asked loudly.

Jinho, Hyunggu and Yuto only sat in silence as the conversation went on between the two tall men.

“You tell me. I didn’t even know you were gonna be here. I thought you had beef with Shinwon. Isn’t he gonna be here too?” Wooseok asked nonchalantly, “You two aren’t gonna tear out each other’s hair?”

The other man clicked his tongue. “Speaking of the devil,” he gestured towards the main entrance.

Jinho couldn’t help but look as another man walked in, and he wondered if there’s anyone at all that was _not_ as tall as these people around him.

“Fucking _Shinwon_ ,” the man muttered angrily.

As if on cue, Shinwon glanced around the lobby and his eyes landed on the waiting area. The look on his face instantly changed, and he quickened his pace towards the receptionist.

“What the hell is Yanan doing here?” he asked. The lobby was not too big, so everyone around was able to hear everything word for word.

Yanan stood up, “Mind your own damn business for once, you fucking traitor.”

“Oh so _now_ it’s called minding your own business?”

While the commotion went on, another couple walked in close together as they tried to approach the counter without getting involved in the shouting match.

“Hongseok and Changgu?” the receptionist asked them and they nodded without saying a word.

Then, out of the blue, silence engulfed the entire floor. Jinho immediately stood up when the company director, Lee Hwitaek, made his way towards the waiting area.

“Everyone here?” he asked the receptionist, and she nodded, the demeaning aura no longer around her.

Hwitaek glanced at them, and Jinho felt a shudder run down his spine when his eyes met the director’s. He felt his stomach doing flips, but tried to control his breathing so he wouldn’t appear too nervous.

The director went for the elevator, and they all followed without being told to. Hwitaek got in first, and one by one they walked in after him until all nine of them were inside.

The tension between Yanan and Shinwon could be cut with a knife, while Hyunggu and Yuto stood still at the back of the elevator with their hands intertwined between them.

Jinho stood awkwardly in the back left corner of the elevator, the other men looming over him and almost completely shielding him from view. He could only see the director standing by the buttons, facing ahead and staring at nothing as he felt the elevator ascend.

The elevator ran smoothly, no sounds coming from outside. It was opaque, so Jinho had no choice but to just burn a hole into Wooseok’s back. The others seemed to have someone that they knew, and Jinho felt left out because he’d come alone. These people were complete strangers to him.

 _How far up are we going?_ he complained in his head. Only twenty seconds had passed, but it felt longer and the humidity inside the confined space was increasing with every breath Jinho took.

Then, his heart sank to his stomach.

Company director Lee Hwitaek cleared his throat.

“So, I bet you are wondering why I’ve gathered you here,” he broke the silence, right before hitting the emergency button.

***

The previously bright, white lights in the elevator turned dark red. It was luminous; the color a heavy crimson leaking from the ceiling and painting every single one of them like specks of blood.

Jinho could no longer feel the elevator moving, so he tried standing on his toes to catch the numbers on a small screen right above the buttons. They were on the 31st floor. He recalled the last time he was in the building, and Hwitaek had only taken him to the 24th floor for interviews.

The only people who looked unfazed aside from the director were Shinwon, Yanan and Wooseok. The two couples looked afraid, surprise evident on their faces as they held one another tightly.

Wrapped around each person’s wrist was a black, metal wristband identical to Jinho’s, but the man suddenly noticed that the logos were all glowing in different colors after the light turned red.

Jinho’s wristband glowed against the silver wall of the elevator, a neon green color that hurt the eyes. Wooseok was yellow, Yanan blue, Shinwon grey, Hyunggu orange, Yuto purple, Hongseok red, and Changgu white.

Lee Hwitaek wasn’t wearing a wristband, but he held up a small remote control in his hand.

He smiled, “See this? A few of you already know what this tiny fella can do.”

“What does it do?” Hyunggu asked, and he screamed right after the words left his mouth.

Jinho jumped where he stood as Hyunggu was writhing in pain right beside him. He noticed Hyunggu’s orange light flickering on his wrist while Hwitaek scoffed with his thumb pressed on the one available button on the remote.

Yuto was on the verge of tears, trying to hold Hyunggu upright as the latter continued to scream until his voice gave out. The commotion went on for the next five seconds before Hyunggu’s screaming ceased and Hwitaek clapped his hands twice.

“Now the rest of you know. Speak only when spoken to or this tiny fella,” Hwitaek shook the remote in the air for all of them to see, “will disable your motor neurons long enough for you to be permanently paralyzed.”

“What?” Jinho muttered under his breath, loud enough for himself to hear. He looked at Hyunggu who was slumped against Yuto, breathing hard while his knees shook underneath him.

“Wooseok,” Hwitaek turned to him. “Your team member is Changgu.”

Changgu gasped, baffled by the sudden announcement. He had no idea what’s going on, and he wrapped his hands around Hongseok’s arm, holding on for dear life. They were there for the job application, not whatever game it was that these people were playing.

A groan came from Wooseok, and Jinho saw the man rolling his eyes before setting them on Changgu. He sized the shorter man up and down before shaking his head, looking even more annoyed than before.

Then the other teams were assigned—Yuto with Hongseok, Shinwon with Hyunggu, and Yanan with Jinho.

Jinho shuddered at the statement. When Yanan turned to see him, he felt the chill run down his spine. Those eyes didn’t look pleased at all, and Jinho doubted they’d be great teammates in this unknown game.

“Listen carefully,” Hwitaek said in a low voice, the amusement clear on his face. “You are all equally accepted in this company. You fit all the criteria that we require for the position, but we can’t hire all of you, can we?”

_What does that even mean?_

“You’ve learned a lot about how this company’s businesses work over the past two weeks of interviews. I’m not surprised you’re all eager to work here. _Everyone_ wants to work here.”

Jinho raised an eyebrow. So much smugness coming from the director of a business corporation. Of course they were big and successful, but he couldn’t comprehend the need for the dramatized situation.

He could see Shinwon rolling his eyes at everything Hwitaek said, and Yanan looked like he was ready to punch his way out of there. When he looked beside him, Hyunggu was able to stand again, but his face was pale and his eyes were droopy.

“The rules remain the same,” Hwitaek continued. “If you’re the last one standing, the position’s all yours.”

Everyone except the three tall men began panicking, including Jinho. He felt his heart rapidly thumping in his chest when Hwitaek turned and hit another button on the elevator. The cables outside started whirring and the elevator ascended for several seconds before halting again.

“See you on the roof, if you could make it,” Hwitaek gave them a smile that made Jinho’s stomach flip.

The doors opened on the 35th floor. Outside was a long, dimly lit hallway that stretched beyond Jinho’s eyesight could make out. Hwitaek stepped out of the elevator and turned around to face them with the same sinister smile plastered on his face.

“Good luck,” was all he said before the doors closed and the elevator went down, back to the 31st floor.

Silence engulfed the atmosphere the moment the metal doors collided. Wooseok looked at Changgu as if he was going to swallow him whole. He pushed past Yanan and tugged the shorter man away from Hongseok while he cried.

“You’re on my team, you better make it worth it,” muttered Wooseok in his deep voice. He grabbed Changgu by the arm as the man pleaded a series of “No” and “Let me go!”, being ignored the whole time.

“Please don’t hurt him,” Hongseok pleaded, his eyes brimming with tears as Wooseok pulled Changgu away from him.

“I’ll be a good teammate I promise,” said Changgu, his voice as gentle as his face.

Wooseok scoffed, “You better.”

Hongseok and Yuto looked at one another while Shinwon took a step towards Hyunggu. Teaming up with strangers for something that they couldn’t even comprehend scared them, but Changgu and Hyunggu were secretly relieved they were teamed up with people who seemed to know what they’re doing.

It was the opposite for Jinho, though. He didn’t know Yanan. Even though Yanan looked like he’d been through this before, how could he trust him?

_How do you trust a stranger that gave you a death glare just because you bump into them in the streets?_

Before they knew it, the elevator halted on the 31st floor, and the doors opened painfully slowly, revealing another dark hallway. All of them walked out one after another, stepping into the eerily silent hallway while the doors closed behind them. The elevator dinged and descended, and Jinho noticed that there were no buttons on the wall to bring the elevator back to them.

“What now?” Yuto whispered, the confusion clear as day on his face. He glanced at Hongseok, and the man was already looking far ahead. Yuto followed his stare and found everyone looking at the same thing.

There was a table at the far end of the hallway, with dim orange lights shining over it. A dark maroon tablecloth was draped over it and spread out on top of it was a variation of weaponry. There were no firearms visible, only sharp objects that ranged from small pocket knives to machetes and axes.

Jinho felt sweat slide down his temple and spine, the shirt and blazer sticking onto his back and making him writhe in discomfort. He had no decent combat skills, he didn’t know how to fight, and he started to overthink about the karate classes he skipped as a child.

“Team leader, step forward,” Wooseok demanded as he turned to look back at the rest of them. Jinho felt the room around him spin as he took in Wooseok’s presence, towering over them while the dim lights illuminated the sides of his face.

Without hesitation, Shinwon and Yanan took a step forward simultaneously while sizing each other up. Jinho knew there’s some kind of rivalry going on between them, and he figured it was probably because they survived a round of this game before.

What he really wanted to know was what the fuck the game demanded. The rules were vague, and what’s the purpose of it all? Why use a game that included _weapons_ and _teams_ and _dark places_ to secure a goddamn job?

“You go,” Hongseok whispered, nudging Yuto forward. The latter seemed too afraid to deem himself as leader, but he did as told and stepped forward.

Wooseok appeared satisfied before he turned and walked towards the table, the other three team leaders trailing behind him. They stood at the table and took in every single weapon available before reaching for what they wanted.

Jinho couldn’t see what Yanan was taking, but he saw Wooseok and Shinwon grabbing weapons as if they memorized what was available from memory while Yuto hesitated his every choice.

By the time the leaders got back to the other four, the table had been vacated, and the lights went out. They were quickly replaced with white emergency lights placed at the top of the wall on both sides, turning on one by one until the hallway was fully lit up and everyone held a weapon in hand.

Yanan had passed Jinho a large kitchen knife and he held it tightly in his fist, his knuckles turning white. To say that his mind wasn’t overflowing with questions would be a lie, but at the moment he had no other choice but to follow Yanan’s instructions.

“Listen closely,” Yanan whispered, bending forward to reach his eye level. “You’re Jinho right?” He put one hand on Jinho’s shoulder and the latter flinched as the dagger in Yanan’s hand was held closely to his face. Jinho only nodded once. “Okay, Jinho. When the siren goes off, I want you to run to the end of the hallway and turn right. There’s a door that leads to the stairs there. Run upstairs until you reach the roof on level 40 and _don’t. Look. Back._ I’ll catch up.”

Jinho gulped and nodded frantically while Yanan’s grip on his shoulder tightened.

“Do you understand?” Yanan whispered harshly, and Jinho could see the sweat glistening on the man’s forehead. He was nervous too.

“Yes. Yes, I understand.”

“Good,” Yanan patted his back and stood up still again, the top of Jinho’s head barely reaching his shoulders. “Let’s do this,” he muttered under his breath, but Jinho heard it loud and clear.

Everyone stood cautiously, fully aware of their surroundings. Even Hyunggu was glancing left and right behind Shinwon, ready to follow his leader’s orders. Hongseok and Yuto didn’t look like they could handle the polearms with axe-like blades, while Wooseok spun the sword in his hand like it weighed nothing.

He’d given Changgu a dagger and a pocket knife, and the man looked like his legs were going to give out anytime soon.

“Any second now,” Wooseok said in a draggy manner. He smiled to himself, staring ahead while standing with his knees bent as if he was ready to sprint.

Shinwon clicked his tongue, his gaze landing on Yanan every now and then like he was planning to attack him first. It wasn’t a great idea, he was being painfully obvious.

Jinho clutched onto his knife tighter, gritting his teeth. His breathing became hard, the sound echoing in his own ears. He bent forward, trying to calm himself down when a loud siren sounded through unseen speakers. It was so loud that Jinho felt his eardrums throb.

Before Jinho could fathom his next thoughts, Yanan turned to him and screamed, _“Run!”_

His feet launched forward as he ducked past Yanan’s swinging arm. Jinho looked back for a split second, finding Shinwon attacking Yanan while the latter plunged his dagger into the former’s thigh.

Shinwon’s scream was drowned out by Changgu’s as Wooseok pushed Hongseok onto the ground with his knee, driving his sword into the middle of his back with no hesitation. Yuto was in a corner near the elevator, crying and shaking in his own arms while his unused weapon lay at his feet.

“Don’t look back,” Jinho said to himself when he reached the end of the hallway. He was ready to turn the corner, but his eyes got the best of him.

The sight before him made his head spin. Shinwon was rolling on the floor, clutching his bleeding thigh while Hyunggu shook on the floor, his wristband glowing again. He’d tried to comfort Yuto, who wasn’t on his team, and there was no getting up from the electricity charging through his veins.

Wooseok stood up, wiping the blood off his sword after pulling it out of Hongseok’s back. He tried to tug Changgu forward, but the man was too busy crying over his dead lover, so Wooseok left him. He turned towards the end of the hallway and his eyes fell on Jinho.

The grin on Wooseok’s face was enough to send Jinho running down the right side of the hallway. He’d seen Yanan walking towards Shinwon with his dagger held up high, and he didn’t want to know where the weapon would end up.

Bile rose up to Jinho’s throat, but he swallowed it down as he reached the door Yanan had mentioned.

“This is it,” he muttered to himself, his free hand twisting the knob and opening the heavy green door.

A groan escaped his lips as he pushed it open big enough for him to get through, but loud running footsteps echoed behind him, and Jinho panicked.

Blood rushed to his head when he felt himself toppling down. Wooseok had kicked him in the back and sent him flying. His face came into contact with the hard concrete floor before his hands could brace himself for the impact. Warm liquid trickled down his nose, his eyes fighting hard to open.

“The only person winning this,” Wooseok grunted, tugging Jinho by the hair so his head was raised from the ground, “is _me_.”

The taller man placed his sword under Jinho’s chin, ready to slice the man’s throat, but Yanan was quicker. He appeared behind Wooseok with such stealth that none of them heard him coming. He knocked Wooseok’s head with the hilt of his dagger and sent the man collapsing onto the floor beside his teammate.

Wooseok was motionless at last, out cold but not for long. Jinho had no idea why Yanan didn’t just kill him but he decided against questioning him. He took Yanan’s hand when the latter offered, and he stood up with shaking hands and knees.

“Let’s go before the others catch up,” Yanan said.

“What about Shinwon?”

Yanan stopped, one hand on the door handle. He turned to look at Jinho with a smile full of pride and satisfaction. “That traitor will never see the light of day ever again.”

Jinho shuddered, but the abrupt silence made both of them turn around simultaneously. Changgu’s cries had stopped out of the blue, and Yuto appeared at the end of the hallway seconds later with blood dripping from the blade of the axe in his hand.

“Go,” Yanan pushed Jinho forward, “ _Go_!”

The door slammed behind them as they ran up the flights of concrete staircases. Yanan was taking two steps at a time behind Jinho, quickly catching up with two daggers in hand, ready to aim it at Yuto if he ever showed up.

Jinho was panting. He wasn’t fit enough to run up 18 flights of stairs, but the adrenaline rush made it possible for him to do so without looking back. His feet acted faster than his mind, and he trusted his body to do the right thing.

Just when they thought they could make it without any other obstacles, another set of footsteps could be heard coming from behind them. Both Jinho and Yanan looked over the railings and found Yuto running after them, the axe held above his shoulder.

“I’m coming for you!” Yuto shouted, tears still running down his face. Only god knew how difficult it was for him to leave Hyunggu’s body back on the 31st floor. None of the blood he spilled could ever makeup for the pain in his chest.

***

_“I’ll carry you,” Yuto said, failing to maintain his sobs as he held Hyunggu in his lap. The love of his life was slowly paralyzed from head to toe, the numbness spreading through his veins like wildfire._

_A tear escaped Hyunggu’s eye, but he smiled. “I’ll be alright, Yu. Go… Save yourself…”_

_And Hyunggu used whatever muscle he could move left to drive the knife in his hand into his own chest, letting the blade sink into his heart that beat only for the man holding him tightly._

_“No!” Yuto shouted, and his sobs blended with Changgu’s as he watched Hyunggu’s smile slowly fade from his lips. He laid his lover on the floor carefully, and his eyes fell on Changgu, who was shaking beside Hongseok’s lifeless body._

_Yuto knew what he had to do. He ended Changgu’s misery._   
  


_***_

“Go! I’ll deal with him,” said Yanan, but Jinho stayed. He couldn’t help but feel useless as a teammate, because Yanan had been doing the killing and continued to save his ass while his hands were clean without a single drop of blood. All he did was run.

“Let me do it,” Jinho replied sternly. Yuto was fast, ascending the stairs as if he was floating. They were already on the 38th floor, and Yuto was four flights of stairs away. “Yanan, let _me_.”

“No!” Yanan turned to him. “Shinwon said that to me the last time and he abandoned me!” he shouted, and Jinho didn’t expect it at all. “I’m _not_ gonna be the one who gets left behind, and you are _not_ gonna be the one to betray me. Are we _clear_?”

Jinho let his stare burn into Yanan’s despite Yuto coming closer.

“I said are we fucking clear?” Yanan’s voice grew louder, and Jinho didn’t flinch.

He turned and went up the stairs, taking two at a time until he reached the 40th floor. There was no looking back. All he heard was the grunts of the two men and the clinking of metal as their blades collided.

 _This is just a fucking video game,_ _I’m just someone’s avatar and the system is glitching._

But Jinho knew it was reality. He didn’t know why these people were killing each other for a stupid job position, but it was his reality.

He found the door that led to the roof on his right and wasted no time as he pushed the handle down and opened it. Numbers flashed above the door, counting down from 40.

“Yanan!” Jinho shouted, letting go of the door and approaching the railing. He noticed that the countdown was still ongoing even after the door was shut again. “Yanan, you need to come here _now_!”

36… 35…

Yanan groaned. “One!” the sound of blades colliding, “Second!” Blade met flesh—Yuto’s gasp was loud enough for Jinho to hear.

30… 29…

Jinho peered down the railing and saw Yuto’s body collapse in front of his teammate before Yanan kicked him down the steps.

24… 23… 

When Yanan was done, he continued running up the stairs until he reached the 40th floor. Jinho was already at the door, and Yanan barely made it through with only four seconds left on the timer.

The two of them climbed the last flight of stairs that led to the roof and a gush of fresh air hit the skin on their faces as soon as they stepped outside.

Lee Hwitaek stood in the center of the rooftop with his arms opened wide, flashing a grin on his face.

“What are you smiling at?” Yanan asked, panting. “We won. It’s over.”

“Are you sure about that?” Hwitaek tilted his head as he asked in a playful tone.

That’s when the door opened once more, and the first thing Jinho saw was a head of pink hair. He swore under his breath when Wooseok looked up at them, his hands drenched in dark red and his smile mirroring Hwitaek’s.

Yanan and Jinho backed away from the door when the tallest of them arrived on the rooftop. Wooseok smirked lazily, drawing his sword out from the belt loop of his slacks. He charged for Jinho first, but Yanan was quick to block him.

From the way Yanan was fighting Wooseok, Jinho realized his teammate had probably done it before, and he’d memorized Wooseok’s fighting patterns.

Hwitaek was laughing and clapping like a child when Wooseok lurched forward and struck Yanan’s thigh with his sword, throwing the latter off his feet. Yanan fell to the ground, his daggers landing out of reach while Wooseok charged at him at his weakest.

“Nobody’s gonna win but _me_!” Wooseok yelled, holding the sword up high above Yanan. The look in his eyes held a darkness that none of the others bore. He was ready to end Yanan’s life as if they weren’t just talking like good friends an hour ago.

Wooseok’s blade glinted in the sunlight as he plunged it downwards. Yanan closed his eyes, ready to feel it sink into his skin, when the pain never came. He opened his eyes again, both hands clutching the wound on his thigh.

“I’m not a traitor,” said Jinho as he pulled Wooseok’s head up by the hair the way the latter had done to him earlier. The corner of his lips curled up into a half smile as he ran the blade of his knife against the skin of Wooseok’s throat. In one quick swipe, the pink haired man was choking and gurgling blood on the cement, toppling over into a mess of limbs while the light left his eyes.

Jinho held out his bloody hand for Yanan to take, and the latter did. The two shared a look that Hwitaek didn’t understand, but he broke it by clearing his throat and clapping his hands twice.

“Touching… Very touching,” he said mockingly.

“We won, for real,” said Jinho. “Now tell me what this was all about. Tell me the reason why I had to kill that man I didn’t even know.”

Hwitaek shook his head, “Not so fast. You haven’t won _for real._ ” He approached Jinho slowly, making the latter fume with anger with every small step he took. “Now for the real test.”

Yanan sighed beside Jinho when Hwitaek took out a gun from the holster under his blazer. He pointed it at Jinho’s head, causing the man to close his eyes and exhale a breath of frustration.

“Are you a traitor now, Jo Jinho?” Hwitaek asked. He stopped one step away and pushed the barrel of the gun into Jinho’s hands, forcing the knife to fall onto the floor with a thud. “Show me.”

Jinho’s eyes were on Yanan then, the gun in his hand loaded and heavy, the metal cold and biting into his skin. He slowly placed his forefinger on the trigger.

He’d never done this before. He’d never killed a man, never fought anyone, never held a gun in his life.

But he knew the safety was off, and he knew Hwitaek wasn’t dumb enough to trick him after all the vagueness he left everyone with in the elevator.

“What are you waiting for?” Hwitaek whispered, his face awfully close to Jinho’s. He took Jinho’s hands in his and made the shorter man point the gun at Yanan’s head. Yanan had his hands up in surrender already, waiting for Jinho to pull the trigger.

“You’re not a traitor,” Yanan said.

“Aw… Was that supposed to encourage him?” Hwitaek let go of Jinho’s hands so he was pointing the gun at Yanan on his own. “Come on, Jinho. You’re not gonna shoot are you? Scared?”

Jinho took deep breaths as his knuckles turned white from gripping the gun a little too tightly. He loosened his fingers and cracked his neck from side to side, his eyes never leaving Yanan’s.

_You’re not a traitor. But are you really gonna save this stranger instead of yourself?_

He came here to get the job. He ran up all those stairs and spilled blood on his own hands for this.

The bullets ricocheted faster than Jinho could blink. Yanan’s body was thrown back when three bullets pierced through his torso, chest and stomach before Jinho turned the gun onto Hwitaek.

“What are you—” Hwitaek was cut off by a series of bullets sinking into different parts of his body.

As Yanan’s body hit the floor, right before he exhaled his last breath, a small smile appeared on his face at the sight of the bullets hitting Hwitaek’s flesh.

Jinho exhaled harshly and tightened his grip on the gun once again. He stopped to take in the sight of the three dead bodies on the rooftop that overlooked the entire city; three dead bodies that _he_ was responsible for.

_I don’t care._

He went back the way he came from. He descended the stairs to the 40th floor and walked out the door into another dark hallway. It was identical to the 31st, except the elevator button was there, so he pushed it.

Jinho calmed his breathing the entire ride down to the lobby where it all started. When the elevator dinged and the doors opened, he stepped out with a serious look on his face, his footsteps echoing throughout the entire floor as he approached the snobby receptionist.

With blood coating his hands, Jinho stared at her and dropped the gun onto the desk with a thud.

The receptionist looked at him with widened eyes, her mouth falling open.

“I’m the director now,” he declared.

And that’s how Jo Jinho became the new director of Pentagon & Co., the large corporation that covered its black market syndicates with the facade of a legit business. The bodies were disposed through the selling of their organs and body parts, managed on the dark, top ten floors of the 40 story building.

It was a brand new day. The sun had risen just like it did yesterday, and it’s time for the new director to commence the next round of interviews.

The city was fully awake, and so was Jinho.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry not sorry <3


End file.
